DVD Review: ZZ Top – “Live At Montreux”

This DVD was filmed during ZZ Top’s appearance at the 2013 Montreux Jazz Festival. They put on the standard ZZ Top show with the addition of songs from their newest album. They also performed a two song tribute to the recently deceased Claude Nobs – founder and general manager of the festival.

The trio came out and cranked “Got Me Under Pressure” followed by the two-fer “Waitin’ For The Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.”

For the tribute portion, they invited a couple of their friends from Austin, TX onstage – a B3 Hammond organ player and rhythm guitarist. They played the jazzy “Kiko” and “I Loved the Woman” while images of Nobs appeared on the projector screen. And in the same section, they also paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix with “Foxey Lady.”

They featured songs from their newest “La Futura” album: “I Gotsa Get Paid,” “Flyin’ High” and “Chartreuse.”

The white furry guitar and bass were brought out for the classic “Legs.” For the encore, they closed the set off with the ZZ Top standards “La Grange” – with the “Sloppy Drunk/BBQ” additions – and “Tush.”

There are also a couple of bonus interviews with ZZ Top. They spoke about their formation, mingling with the late Nobs and coming up with new material.

Overall, the new songs and tribute tunes take the place of concert staples like “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Just Got Paid” and “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide.” The 2008 DVD “Live In Texas” – also by Eagle Rock – is still the gold standard when it comes to ZZ Top live in concert. But the “Live at Montreux 2013” DVD freshens up the set a little bit with some newer stuff. When ZZ Top is live onstage, you can never go wrong with the power trio.